Credit my mom with spotting this gem of a sign at the Burger King in Hinckley, Minnesota:

Bacon: You take things to another level. One meat just isn’t enough. In fact, if they could find a way to make the bun out of meat, you’d be all set.

Mmmmmm…buns of meat (not to be confused with hats of meat). I think the folks at Burger King may be on to something there…

I stopped in to Pizza Luce smack dab in downtown Duluth and had some lunch with a colleague. It was a scouting mission in a way since I would be returning to Pizza Luce later that evening to take in a great local band –  Cars & Trucks.

I ordered the Smoked Gouda Macaroni which comes with an ample  amount of real bacon. The menu description is as follows:

Creamy gouda cheese, broccoli and bacon tossed with macaroni and topped with toasted bread crumbs and our bruschetta.

Those ingredients combine to create a wonderfully light and tasty meal that I would gladly order again. Of course, when I went back that evening it was pizza & beer that kept me going while listening to the band. Next time I’ll remember to hop across the bridge to the Anchor Bar in Superior, WI to grab some deep fried bacon to keep me going.

Smaste™ rating: 32.142

We travel the world in search of great bacon. We search high and low for meals that charge the senses and tease the taste buds with mouth-watering anticipation.

Sometimes, we’re early for a flight and we’re just plain hungry. Such was the case on a recent trip through Indianapolis. We found ourselves about an hour ahead of schedule and plenty ready for a hearty breakfast if one was to be found at the Indianapolis airport (IND).

There was a small coffee shop of the corporate-infused-latte variety and a chain restaurant called Champps. We opted for the chain restaurant as the baristas over at coffee central didn’t look like the proud servers of bacony goodness.

We sat down and ordered our meal. A good old-fashioned American breakfast. Two eggs, two pieces of toast, two strips of bacon, a fruit cup, and fried potatoes. Sounded like just what we needed to kick start the last leg of our journey.

We couldn’t have been more wrong. The eggs were bland, the toast was stale, the fruit not fresh, the potatoes tasteless, and the bacon…awful. We could have put up with the poor taste of all the items on our plate but not the bacon. The poor pork was the consistency of cardboard left out to dry on a hot summer day after being soaked the previous night in a tub of stale bathwater. What had the potential of being salty, tasty meat candy was now more like red garden clay. So sad, so tragic, and no where near the happy breakfast we had hoped would guide us through the rest of our day.

This waste of a meal earns a Smaste™ rating of 2.0. That’s right, two. and the two is for the butter. At least that was good. We ate it with a spoon.

You may remember our last bacon hunt in Elk River, MN. This time we went to new locations but the mission was the same — find the best bacon in town.

We started the day at Elk River Meats. Our hunt took place on Sunday, and unfortunately Elk River Meats was closed. A couple of interesting items though…

1. The hours of operation did not list Sunday. I guess the town just assumes nothing is open downtown on Sundays.

2. A “rabbits for sale” sign was in the window of the meat shop. That was slightly disturbing.

After our bacon fail at Elk River Meats, we went to Sonic Drive-in for our grilled cheese with 30 slices of bacon. That was a complete success.

Our last stop of the day was Cub Foods, a regional supermarket. We wanted to check out their meat counter and see what kind of bacon selection they had to offer.

About 20 different brands of bacon were represented at Cub Foods. From maple to hickory smoked from “Neuske’s” to “No Name” brands, Cub Foods really came through with a quality selection of bacon.

Elk River is definately a bacon-loving town. We’re happy that next time we visit we’ll know exactly where to go.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2dNU2ybKd4

1) It’s about a restaurant that encourages you to add bacon to everything, and

2) It was submitted by a BT reader named “Agent N” – awesome!

After following the series of articles that BT Chief Baconographer Corey James wrote during his exploration of the midwest, Agent N had this to say…

“I have never found the equal to a Fred’s burger (Morton’s in Cedarburg, WI comes close). A Fred’s burger (http://frp.tripod.com/) topped with bacon is simply sublime. Their menu doesn’t even offer a burger SPECIFICALLY with bacon because they encourage you to add bacon to any burger on the menu. I would recommend stopping in… and don’t miss out on a roasted garlic burger with sauteed onions, shrooms and BACON. Additionally, don’t miss out on the fresh cut curly fries… slathered with cheese.”

Agent N is right – while Fred’s doesn’t have a specific bacon burger, they do show a bacon burger on their menu, and it is listed as being available as an add-on for the recession-friendly price of just $0.75.

– Mike

We travel a lot and everywhere we go we try to seek out the best bacon in town. On a recent trip to the midwest, I was able to stop in quite a few places in Minnesota and Wisconsin to taste some great bacon meals.

One spot in particular really blew me away with the tastiness & quality was Aces on 29th in Superior, WI. With 9 items featuring bacon on the menu this was the kind of place that Bacon Today lives for, but the famous Charburger® was what really solidified Aces on 29th as a must-stop destination anytime I’m in the northern midwest.

The Charburger® got its start in around 1961 at the legendary regional drive through restaurant Nick’s Burger King in Duluth, Minnesota. The last Nick’s closed in 2002, but now with Aces on 29th the Charburger® legend lives on. With its 1/3 lb. all-beef burger, melted Swiss cheese, carmelized onions, kosher pickels, ketchup reduction sauce, and sesame bun, this burger is done to perfection. Add a couple thick slices of crispy smoked bacon for $1 and you’ve got a heavenly treat for any bacon lover.

When the burger arrived at the table it looked fabulous and was served with seasoned waffle fries.

I opened the burger and saw near perfection in bacon burger creation. As we always do when testing bacon meals, I broke off a small piece of bacon and tasted it before the rest of the burger. The crispy, thick sliced bacon was incredible and I quickly dove in to the complete meal.

The complete burger and fries were awesome. The combination of the Charburger’s smokey taste and the thick smoked bacon was a perfect match. The meal earns a Smaste™ rating of 42.998. This burger will be hard to beat.

If you’re ever near Superior, WI do yourself a favor and head over to Aces on 29th and add bacon to your burger.

The mission was simple: find bacon in Elk River, MN. The players? Corey James and his cousin Travis Rand. We donned our sunglasses and set off on a sunny, 15 degree day in our hunt for nature’s meat candy. First stop? Von Hanson’s Meats.

Von Hanson’s had an awesome selection of meats. Chicken, beef, and of course bacon. We chose thick sliced, double smoked bacon and friendly staff member Dale wrapped us up a pound of the good stuff.

After Von Hanson’s we only made one additional stop. Super Walmart. Yes, I know we should have sought out additional small meat markets and deli counters with bacon around central Minnesota, but when we arrived at the bacon section of the Walmart Supercenter we were overwhelmed…and my wallet was soon emptied.

This Walmart Supercenter had over 30 varieties of bacon on the shelf. I turned the corner and their was another whole bin of bacon. I went to the deli counter – more bacon. My mind was racing. I only had a few hours left on my Elk River trip and needed to make quick decisions.

From fully cooked hickory smoked bacon to turkey bacon to the jumbo 3 pound pack of bacon ends & pieces, I grabbed as much bacon as I could carry and made my way toward the door.

I was stopped in my tracks yet again when I spied even more bacon varieties at the deli counter. Deli worker Paula helped us out by thin-slicing some Canadian back bacon and pointing us toward the pre-cut prosciutto and pancetta. Oh man were we going to have a bacon festival that night.

When all was said and done we left the store with two grocery bags stuffed with about a dozen packages of a variety of bacon products. That night we made bacon-wrapped filet mignon, bacon wrapped bacon wrapped bacon (BWBWB), and fried up some plain old strips of applewood smoked bacon, turkey bacon, and so on. We purchased so much bacon that I left an entire shelf of my family’s refridgerator stuffed with bacon. No one complained.

Have a great bacon shopping story? Contact us or write your story in the comments area below.

Bacon cheeseburger burrito from Burrito Union

Our bacon journey through Wisconsin & Minnesota continued north into Duluth, MN this week. My buddy Travis said he knew a spot with a great atmosphere where we could get a tasty bacon-rich meal. So off we went to the Burrito Union (BU) for some Bacon Cheeseburger Burritos (see photo above).

MattO standing outside the Burrito Union

I called up my other buddy MattO and he met us at the BU. Turns out both Matt & Travis know the owner of BU (and the Redstar club and Fitger’s Brewhouse) Tim Nelson. When we arrived, AGM/Service Manager Patrick Sunderland had some off-menu special Bacon Cheeseburger Burritos prepared especially for our visit. We all felt like bacon royalty.

Corey, Travis, & MattO -- the three burrito amigos

The burritos we received were excellent. The soft flour tortillas were stuffed with big chunks of char-grilled hamburger patties, shredded cheddar cheese and diced red onions & tomatoes. Oh, and let’s not forget the generous pieces of thick sliced applewood smoked bacon. These bacon cheeseburger burritos earn a high Smaste™ rating of 37.998.

As we were leaving from our lunch, BU manager Patrick let me know that they also do applewood bacon breakfast burritos. Since I was going to be in Duluth again the following morning I had to make a second stop at the Burrito Union.

Applewood bacon breakfast burrito - during

Waitress Jessica took my order on an early Saturday morning and brought me an applewood bacon breakfast burrito faster than I thought they could make it. I in turn made quick work of the awesome meal. Served with a side of chips, the burrito is packed tight with potatoes, scrambled eggs, melted cheese and more of that great thick sliced bacon. In fact, there was not a single bite I took that didn’t contain a piece of bacon. Talk about a great start to the day! The breakfast burritos earn a slightly higher Smaste™ rating of 38.006. The higher rating might have had something to do with how hungry I was though…Smaste™ is a touchy system.

If you’re ever in the Duluth, MN area, make sure you stop by Burrito Union. If the bacon cheeseburger burrito isn’t on the “specials” board that day, you can always top your burrito with bacon for a couple bucks more.

Bacon is alive and well in the northwoods of Wisconsin. No place is that truer than at the Rustic Roost restaurant & lounge in Iron River, WI on U.S. Highway 2.

From the outside, the Rustic Roost is a modest looking establishment. Its kind of a combination restaurant, bar, motel, and mini golf course and at first glance had me a bit befuddled. Once inside though, my opinions were soon changed.

Take a look at the photo above. Even the broccoli salad had real, fresh pieces of bacon. I knew instantly that this place was going to tickle my bacon fancy (just try to top that bacon euphemism Mike ).

Upon taking my order, waitress Judy (that’s her in the photo with my grandfather) informed me of two interesting tidbits about the Rustic Roost. First, the original building has been in the same spot since the 1940s and second, all the bacon is from a local supplier. Nostalgia and fresh, local bacon…a winning combination if ever there was one.

In fact, all the bacon served at the Rustic Roost is from Jim’s Meat Market right there in Iron River. Jim’s Meat Market opened in 1981 and is USDA certified so they can ship tasty treats throughout the U.S. There’s even a rumor floating around that the bacon is from a local hog form in Oulu, Wisconsin but I couldn’t get verification of that statement.

Okay, okay…on to the meal.

I ordered the bacon cheeseburger. A simple affair by any bacon connoisseur’s standards sure, but sometimes the basics can surprise you. The burger was served with chips of two varieties, potato and dill pickle.

Upon close examination the burger was perfectly prepared. A hearty slice of melted cheddar cheese covered two thick, tasty pieces of that local bacon which were lovingly arranged atop a grilled hamburger patty.

Following the usual Bacon Today meal sampling protocol, I tore off a piece of the bacon slice for an unadulterated taste. Fantastic! Perfectly cooked, mildly salty, and very meaty. I immediately assembled the burger and chomped down.

My plate was spotless within ten minutes of receiving the meal. This one earns a Smaste™ rating of 40.12. Simple, tasty, and full of bacony goodness. (that’s my mom, me, and grandfather in the photo in case you were wondering)

Hey, the place is even so good country singer Mel Tillis has eaten there — as evidenced from the autographed photo with the signature “Good Food” hanging on the dining room wall.

You can’t go wrong with a good old fashioned country music endorsement now can ya?

Now here’s one for the bacon rumor mill…

Mel Tillis may love bacon. Discuss amongt yourselves.